Switchfoot interview
08-13-2003
by Robin Parrish

Robin: How did the mainstream deal with Columbia come about, and how does that fit into your vision for this album, The Beautiful Letdown?

Jon: It's interesting, because we did the album entirely on our own. And Columbia came on board afterwards. We picked the songs, we picked the producer, we picked where and when and how, and we did the album pretty much a song a day. We ended up taking 17 days [to record the album]. It was an amazing experience, because there's an amount of passion and energy that's captured when you do something quickly like that.

Then Columbia came on board afterwards, when we were mixing it, and they were really excited and wanted to be a part of it. That was really great because it allowed us the artistic freedom of creating our album. You know, four albums later, we're kind of getting the hang of this.

Do you think it was hard for you to create a musical identity for yourselves? As in, what sets you apart from every other rock band?

Tim: I think it really would have been if we had been aware of it at the time. You start out, you don't really think about it. You just make music. I think since then, we've really learned a lot about who we are as a band. We've refined that, I think.

We're still trying to introduce audiences to who we are. Not so much defining our sound, as getting them to go, "Oh yeah, this is what a Switchfoot song sounds like." Because I think a lot of people like to put you in a box, and a lot of our songs don't fit into an easy box.

Did the Columbia deal happen because of [your exposure on] A Walk To Remember?

Well, Mandy [Moore] paid them a lot of money... (Laughs.) No. I'm not really sure what the implications of A Walk To Remember has had on people coming to our shows or anything like that. It's definitely a younger age group that that film reaches than the kids that go to our concerts, typically. But we were proud to be a part of it. I'm not sure it had any effect at all on Columbia, though. They're mainly into selling records. And whether or not the movie had any implications on how well we'd sell in the retail world, they really believe in the album.

Are you satisfied with how they've handled things so far?

Yeah. They've got a lot of money.

(Everyone laughs.)

They've got a lot of muscle. From the beginning, we wanted to make sure that this album doesn't become just a money or muscle album -- it's not the album that's pushed by the radio stations down your throat -- but [we wanted it to be] the album that you tell your friends about.

I want to ask you about where you get inspiration for your songs, and I don't just throw that out there as a "standard interview question," because I really want to know. So many of your songs are about tension and wrestling and change and risk -- all these dramatic ideas. Where does all that come from?

Maybe my own dreams and aspirations. For me, The Beautiful Letdown is the tension of existence. The paradox of beauty and darkness. Trying to wrap our arms around all of that and make an honest album. Dealing with what it means to be human in a postmodern world. And that includes fear, joy, pain, love, change, and risk.

To touch on "change" for a second... There's a lot of things that we want to see changed. We know that we have a small part to play in all this, but we want to make sure that whatever part we do play is something that is lived for an eternal perspective.

With that in mind, why do you do what you do? Are you out to change the world?

Every day of your life, you change the world. Absolutely, yes, we're out to change the world. I mean, you change it whether you like it or not. You wake up and you talk to the grocer. You either kick your dog or you pet him. There's a million decisions you have every day where you change the world.

What is your ultimate goal as an artist?

Well, we talk about two ideals for Switchfoot. The first being, "a revolution of being." A revolution that starts from the inside out. And then the second would be "illumination." Light coming to the dark corners of the world around us.

Jerome: One thing that was touched on is that a lot of our songs are challenges. We have been thinking a lot lately about the idea that a lot of people are throwing out answers right now, and a lot of times they're answers that no one is even asking a question for. We wanted to come out with an album that begs the questions. What is life about? What is this all about? What are the deeper issues? I think the sooner we start that dialog, the sooner truth can be found.

That's even more important now that you guys are breaking out of the Christian subculture. Tell me about that. What do you think about it, and what made you guys decide to go in that direction?

When we signed with Re:think Records in 1997, Re:think was a label that was devoted to serving both communities. No walls. That label was bought by Sparrow Records, which is an incredible record company. But their purpose and vision is not the same as Re:think. For us, where we are now is a happy marriage where we feel like our songs are being heard by anyone who needs to hear them. We never had a change in purpose, or a change in the songs that we write. I want to be writing songs that my next door neighbor or some guy who's German can listen to and have something to think about at the end of the album.

Are you more focused on creating art, or fostering ministry?

Well, I would define my ministry as what you do in your... "cognitive" life. The moment you wake up and begin to enter into relationships with other people, that's ministry. For us, that's usually more so off-stage than on. Simply because on-stage, you really have maybe two or three minutes where you can communicate in an hour-long set. You know, they came to hear music. To talk any more than that -- they turn off their ears, and it's not really communicating.

So for us, we feel like our passion is for music. But underneath all of that, we have our eyes set on the horizon. That means that every moment is important. It's hard for me to separate the two.

What about evangelism?

Evangelism. The part of that process that we're most involved with, I think, is the seed-planting. The Socratic dialog where we are asking questions, and the listener is forced to confront him or herself.

At CMCentral, we've been talking a lot lately about being Roaring Lambs and what that means... What does that lifestyle look like for a regular person?

Well, I am a very regular person. (Pauses.) I don't mean that in the dietary sense.

(Everyone laughs.)

There's an importance placed on the stage in our modern life, where somehow if you're in front of people -- if you're on tv, or if you're in a movie -- somehow that's more significant.

Because you're famous.

Right. And my opinion is that that's the fake stuff and this is the real stuff. This is where reality happens. I think it's an escapist mindset to think that, "I'm only a carpenter; I have no real role to play. The people that really do have a role to play are up there, on that stage." Sometimes I feel almost insignificant in the fact that I don't have as much time as I'd like to be a part of that kind of community at home. To be a part of helping certain organizations. I know that's something we [as a band] have talked about a lot. This is our community. Our traveling community. Our Bible study, if you will. And we're simply trying to be effective in the circles that we've been given.

What would you be doing if you weren't in the music business?

I'd be attempting to get my masters or doctorate and trying to be a professor. That's kind of a dream of mine, that probably will never come true.

I could see that happening.

I like working with wood, so carpentry is what I'd be doing.

In my spare time, I do a little producing, working on albums for others. I'd probably do more of that.

Chad: I'd probably be making baloon animals for children's birthday parties.

(Everyone laughs.)

No, I'd be a student in Jon's philosophy class.

(Jon laughs.)

What's a book besides the Bible that has changed the way you look at your faith?

There's a lot of them. C.S. Lewis' Abolition of Man was the last one that I read.

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. Great book.

Enjoying God by John Piper.

My Heart, Christ's Home.

Sounds like you guys spend a lot of time reading.

Yeah, whenever we can. There's some time on the road every now and then. Reading goes well with traveling.

What is God teaching you lately?

Life is short. It's often said, but it's a short set and then you're off the stage almost as quick as you get on. There's very few things that you can do that have importance, that will last, that have eternal value. I want to make sure I'm doing those things.

I think grace is something that I'll probably wrestle with for the rest of my life. It's a mystery to me. Lately I've been overwhelmed by God's grace and how undeserving I am of that.

God's been teaching me that my time is not necessarily his time. So I've been learning a lot about patience.

He's been revealing to me how he's given me so much that is not my doing. I can't take credit for anything.